Communities That Learn, Lead, and Last: Building and Sustaining Educational Expertise - Hardcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Giselle O. Martin-Kniep, Ph.D., is president of Learner-Centered Initiatives, an educational consulting organization focusing on comprehensive school improvement efforts including leadership, curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices. She is also the CEO of Communities for Learning: Leading Lasting Change? (formerly known as the Center for the Study of Expertise in Teaching and Learning (CSETL). Communities for Learning is an organization dedicated to supporting reform from within: promoting change in the service of adult, student and organizational learning; building capacity by uncovering and deepening existing internal expertise; and aligning the passion and expertise of individuals with their organization's vision.

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Praise for Communities that Learn, Lead, and Last

"Dr. Martin-Kniep's ability to capture and share the work of professional learning will inspire you to envision the formation of your own learning communities. 'Designing and distributing thoughtfulness' takes shape as you read Communities that Learn, Lead, and Last through authentic examples and models to helping you to invite colleagues into the critical work of developing meaningful learning communities."

Anne Smith, principal, Cutchogue East Elementary School, New York

"This book is a must read for everyone who is passionate about teaching and learning! Within its pages, Giselle O. Martin-Kniep cites actual practice and offers a wide array of unique tools to make the compelling case that sustainable student achievement can occur when faculty are provided opportunities to learn, lead, and innovate collaboratively."

Mark Levine, principal, P.S. 24, Bronx, New York

"The power of collegiality vibrates from the pages of this book. A must read for anyone who feels that teaching and learning in isolation is no longer an option."

Wanda Alsheimer, second grade teacher,Wayland-Cohocton Central School, Cohocton, New York

"Giselle O. Martin-Kniep's latest book provides specific tools for assessing and promoting the readiness of learning organizations to support ongoing and sustainable student and adult learning. Given the challenges of our current educational system, this book is a critical resource for all educators that seek to build professional learning communities that learn, lead, and last!"Dr. Charlene Jordan, Empowerment Schools,New York City Department of Education

"School administrators will benefit from this how-to guide for establishing and operationalizing professional learning communities that harness the collective expertise of educators. The personal insights, strategies, and research-based tools that Giselle O. Martin-Kniep shares in this book will enable educators to build educational communities that learn, lead, and last. Unpack this toolkit and get ready to realize the full potential of your school."

Edward J. Zero, district superintendent and executive director,Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Patchogue, New York

Co-published with Communities for Learning: Leading Lasting Change?

Jacket design by Chris Wallace | Cover image © Symphonie/Iconica/GettyImages

Aus dem Klappentext

Developing Communitiesthat Learn, Lead, and Last

"Finally, a book on professional learning communities that is accessible and practical without being facile or fatuous. If you want to understand the dispositions of practice of working in a professional learning community (PLC), and to know how to develop your PLC over time, this is absolutely the book for you."

Andy Hargreaves, The Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch School of Education, Boston College

Communities That Learn, Lead, and Last offers a fresh and compelling perspective while providing practical guidance for schools and districts on how to develop "professional learning communities" that serve to instill educational ideals, share wisdom, improve practice, and enhance capacity across the system. Comprised of any combination of teachers, school leaders, staff developers, district personnel, and even students, professional learning communities, as described in this book, break new ground and challenge the status quo by focusing on the reconciliation of individual and organizational expertise, vision, and needs through a variety of collaborations, activities and projects—ranging from classroom-related work to broader issues of policy, leadership, and organizational improvement. Depending on their needs, maturity, purpose, and membership, professional learning communities can be centered on learning, leading, or lasting. Showing how such communities can become the means for improving teaching and learning, as well as promote and sustain educational innovations, the book maps out the community-building essentials, providing guidance, tools, and carefully crafted rubrics in the following areas:

• Building individual and organizational capacity for learning

• Facilitating and managing professional learning communities

• Improving and assessing community functioning

• Improving the outcomes of professional learning communities

• Evaluating the work of community participants

This important book is based on work in leadership, instruction, and professional development practices that Giselle O. Martin-Kniep and her colleagues at Learner-Centered Initiatives have done with districts and schools. Communities That Learn, Lead, and Last also features extensive contributions from Communities for Learning: Leading Lasting Change?, an organization comprised of teachers, administrators, professional developers, and teacher educators dedicated to building professional capacity.